Luftrausers: Fly, shoot, die, repeat

Vlambeer is quickly building a name as one of the indie game developers to watch. Their debut title, the free PC game Super Crate Box (also available in a deluxe version on iOS for $1.99), created a massive splash in the industry, and the two-man team keeps producing solid gold.

Their next big release was the wonderfully bizarre Ridiculous Fishing, released for Apple and Android mobile devices, and it too became an industry darling. Like Super Crate Box, it provided gameplay in small chunks, ideal for a mobile game, and also presented a deceptively cute retro art style that obscured just how challenging the gameplay was.

Luftrausers is fast, fun, and furious, and strangely beautiful with its limited sepia palette.

Now they have released Luftrausers, a PlayStation semi-exclusive that's available on PS3 and PS Vita, as well as Windows, Mac, and Linux PCs, and it's another instant classic. One again it sports a gorgeous retro look, this time in a unique sepia-toned monochrome, and offers fun, challenging gameplay in brief bursts.

The player takes on the role of a pilot in some never quite specified war, jumping into the cockpit on some very weird experimental aircraft. The controls are very simple: throttle, turn left and right, and fire your gun. Using these four buttons you will swoop across the pixellated sky, dogfighting with countless foes. First you face small enemy places, then gunboats, working your way rapidly up to giant blimps, warships, and enemy flying aces.

Typically for Vlambeer, the gameplay seems very simple, but there is remarkable depth for those with the patience to master it. In the simplest terms, you fly your aeroplane across a 2D sky, shooting at everything that moves. If you get damaged, your aircraft can repair itself, but you have to take your finger off the fire button for a few seconds.

Pulling in the opposite direction is the game's scoring system. Every enemy you destroy racks up a multiplier, up to a maximum of x20. That multiplier will reset to zero in only a few seconds if you do not continue to blow away your enemies, so there is a strong temptation to keep in firing a moment longer and maximise your score.

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For example, the weakest enemy in the game is a tiny fighter plane, worth 15 points if you shoot it down. However, with the maximum multiplier it's worth 300. Likewise, a 100 point ship is worth 2,000 if you can sink it while your multiplier is maxed out.

As such, you are constantly managing two competing values: your plane's health, which is whittled down by enemy fire, collisions, flying too high, and crashing into the ocean, and your multiplier, which will only stick around if you attack aggressively. Each is mutually exclusive from moment to moment, since you need to fire to keep getting kills, but also stop firing so your plane can repair itself.

As such, the game is a balancing act, and it's very challenging. Thankfully it's also very short, with the longest game running to only a few minutes (and a disastrous game being over in just a few seconds). That said, a long but cautious game will result in a poor score, while a short, violent game can net huge points thanks to the multiplier system.

Longevity comes from the variety of challenges on offer, and the switchable aircraft parts they provide as a reward for completion. Your plane is made up of three pieces: a gun, a fuselage, and an engine. While you start with a basic one of each, more are unlocked as you progress. Later guns include a laser and a shotgun, advanced fuselages include a slow but heavily armoured shell and a nuke that detonates when you die, and among the engines are a water-friendly that takes no damage from a dunk in the ocean, and another the propels itself by firing bullets backwards.

Each component can be mixed and matched, meaning there are well over 100 possible planes to fly (though admittedly some of these would be terrible). The game also encourages experimentation and variety, as each component has its own challenges to complete.

Luftrausers is fast-paced, intense, very challenging, and occasionally frustrating, but it's so quick to play that it is all too easy to keep saying "just one more turn!" until long after you intended to go to bed. It's also gorgeous to look at, and features an excellent electronic music score.

If I had to criticise it, and its not easy, then I would have to say that the lack of co-operative multiplayer feels like a missed opportunity. Two players side-by-side on the couch, taking out enemy planes, ships, and blimps together, while also competing for the high score? That would be gaming perfection, in my opinion. Even so, as a strictly single-player affair it's still hugely enjoyable.

Also, while there are no recognisable emblems or flags, the look of your support crew is decidedly reminiscent of the Nazis in World War II, who were famous for their experimental aircraft. Some might find this a little distasteful, so be warned.

All in all, this is retro gaming goodness that's well worth the ten dollar asking price. Swoop down and buy it if you like your retro gaming fun but tough.